37 inmates escape in CAR prison break

They escaped from the Bambari prison south of the civil war-torn country.

The escape is among a series of upheavals that have rocked the city in Ouaka Province in recent days.

At least nine people have been killed and the headquarters of some international non‑governmental organisations (NGOs) looted.

Peacekeepers from the United Nations Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA) are monitoring the situation in Bambari following an exchange of fire on Wednesday between the rebel Union for Peace in the CAR (UPC) and members of a joint patrol of UN formed police unit as well as internal security forces.

Some 300 civilians sought refuge with peacekeepers, while around 200, mainly women and children, fled to Evéché as a result of the clashes.

“All UN staff have been accounted for and UN peacekeepers have increased patrolling,” said a MINUSCA spokesperson.

Christian extremists and Muslim radicals have made the Central African country of 5 million people ungovernable.

With more than 10 000 troops on the ground, MINUSCA was deployed in 2014 to restore peace.

The deployment came a year after Muslim rebels overthrew the government of François Bozizé.– CAJ News